Chocolate Kisses
by lirpa-chan
Summary: Naruto didn't expect to share Valentine's Day with someone. Sakura didn't expect she'd have to give her chocolate to someone other than Sasuke. In the end it turns out to be a rather pleasant, if not a little weird, Valentine's Day.


Disclaimer: As I am not making any money off of these two things, I do not own **Naruto** or **Hershey Kisses**, but if I did...

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Chocolate Kisses  
_A special Valentine's Day one-shot_

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Naruto wouldn't say he _hated_ Valentine's Day, but he didn't necessarily like it either. He liked what it stood for (after all, who could say they hated something as pure as _love_?), but he quickly got bored with being reminded that he was unwanted; whether it be as the container for the fox demon or simply as a hindrance in a girl's schemes to win the heart of Uchiha Sasuke. He got lonely amongst the swarm of people and their laughter, which was odd, but not at all an alien feeling to him. Still, he thought it would be nice if he could share this 'special' day with some_one_, some_day_.

He had taken refuge in a field on the outskirts of Team 7's usual training grounds, having exhausted himself of training for the day. Now he was basking in the late afternoon sun, lazily watching the clouds pass by. It was peaceful at least; he couldn't hear any squeals of 'Sasuke-kun!' and for that he was thankful. _"I wonder what the bastard does on this day..."_ Naruto mused before smiling smugly. _"Probably puts his 'elite' ninja skills to good use. Heh."_ Somewhere in the back of his mind he had registered approaching footsteps, but it wasn't until a shadow had cast itself over him that he realized he wasn't alone.

"_Here_," Sakura said dejectedly, dropping a small velvet pouch into Naruto's lap. Startled by the girl's sudden appearance, he looked up at her before glancing quizzically at the small bag she had thrown at him.

"What is it?"

"Chocolate," she replied almost disdainfully as she sat down. She made an indignant noise and then started picking at the blades of grass viciously. Naruto cocked his head to the side, confused and a little worried by his teammate's behavior, before turning his attention back to the bag. He would've smiled, would've been happy and have graciously thanked the girl if she hadn't been so moody. Her attitude told him they weren't actually meant for him. Still…

"Did you make them?" he asked curiously, picking up one of the tear shaped chocolates and plopping it into his mouth.

"_Yes_," Sakura said haughtily. "I spent _all day_ making them, but Sasuke-kun said he hates sweets and wouldn't take them, so… Oh, _all right_, I _didn't_ make them!" she blurted, throwing her hands up in frustration, bits of grass fluttering in the air as she did. Naruto stared at the girl, baffled by the sudden outburst. "My mother wouldn't let me buy the ingredients this year, said it would _all go to waste_ like it did last time, so I bought some brand-name stuff."

"Oh," Naruto said for lack of anything else.

"And don't you _dare_ tell Ino!" Sakura glared. "She'd never let me hear the end of it!"

"I-I won't," Naruto promised, smiling uncertainly. Sakura continued to glare at him, as if questioning his loyalty, before turning to glare out at the field. "So…" Naruto started hesitantly. "What kind are they?"

"What kind are what?" she asked without looking at him, clearly irritated.

"The chocolates," he replied matter-of-factly. "I haven't had this kind before."

"Oh. I don't know, something 'kisses' or other." She paused before looking at him sharply, the faintest traces of pink lining her cheeks. "And don't think I— I didn't… _I didn't get them because of that_!" She was full on blushing now. "Just shut up and eat the damn chocolate," she muttered, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Naruto smiled, amused by the girl's antics before complying with her demand.

They were quiet for a few minutes, each tending to their own thoughts with nothing to look at except the vast land before them. Naruto didn't know what had brought Sakura all the way up here, but he had to admit he was grateful for the unexpected company. He found himself glancing at the girl in between watching the passing clouds and was glad to see her anger was dissipating. He smiled, sucking on another one of the chocolates and savoring its taste. "Thanks, Sakura-chan," he said quietly after another moment had passed.

She looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. "For what?"

"For…" he trailed off, not exactly sure how to phrase it. "Well… For spending Valentine's Day with me," he smiled sheepishly. No one had ever paid any attention to him on this particular holiday, never mind give him _candy_. He wasn't fool enough to think it was intentional, but it was still nice. After all, Sakura could have just as easily pawned the chocolate off to someone else; she didn't have to go looking for _him_.

"Tch. I just don't want to see Ino," Sakura replied, glancing down at her hands as a light blush crossed her face. Naruto nodded, but smiled anyway. It wasn't often _he_ was the reason Sakura blushed. He held out the bag to her.

"Chocolate?"

She looked at the bag with a furrowed brow before glancing at him uncertainly. "_You_ bought them," he grinned. She snorted, smiling despite herself, and reached into the bag. She plopped the 'kiss' into her mouth and was unable to keep a surprised "Mmm!" from escaping. Naruto chuckled before fishing one out for himself. This time they sat in a companionable silence until a question forced itself into the open.

"Why do they call it a 'kiss'?"

"_What_?" Sakura coughed, choking on the chocolate she had previously been enjoying.

"The chocolates," he elaborated. "You'd think they'd be shaped like lips or somethin'," he said unabashed, studying the chocolate teardrop with a furrowed brow.

"Oh," Sakura giggled. _Honestly_, what had she been expecting from him? Certainly not… No, she wouldn't even _think_ it. "Well…" she started, attempting to forget where her mind had just wandered (_and_ desperately trying to fight off the blush that threatened to rise. Jeez, she was acting worse than that Hyuuga girl!) "Would _you_ want to eat lips?" She froze before hastening to amend the phrase. "I mean… uh… Well, kisses are supposed to be _sweet_, so shape shouldn't matter, but the taste should. Wait… No, I mean… um…"

She bit her lip nervously. Did she _seriously_ just say all that? She glanced at Naruto from the corner of her eye, mind already wheeling how she was going to explain all that, but found the boy didn't look perturbed in the slightest.

"Maybe…" he agreed, as if she hadn't said anything unusual. Sakura snorted. Then she giggled. Then she broke out into a full blown laugh. Naruto looked over at her alarmed. "Sakura-chan?"

The girl waved him off, trying to compose herself. "I'm sorry," she breathed between giggles. He just nodded and continued to regard her warily. At this she gave a derisive snort. "I don't know. Why do _you_ think they're shaped like that?" she finally asked, deciding to sidestep everything she had said entirely.

Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, they're shaped like a teardrop. Maybe they're supposed to symbolize how love can be just as painful as it is sweet."

Sakura stared at him utterly baffled. Of all the things he could have said she had _not_ expected to hear _that_. It was too profound for someone like Naruto, possibly even her beloved Sasuke-kun. The boy blushed under her scrutiny, murmured something incomprehensible, and then devoured the chocolate he had been inspecting.

"I… Naruto… That…" she trailed off at a loss for words. Too astonished to say anything further, she mimicked Naruto and plopped another chocolate into her mouth. This was turning out to be a _really_ weird Valentine's Day.

"Ne, Sakura-chan," Naruto prompted, breaking the semi-awkward silence. "Why'd you give me these?"

"Huh? Oh." Sakura swallowed the candy she had been nursing before replying. "You told me once that you liked sweets. I didn't want them to go to waste."

"Oh." There was another awkward pause, then, "Sakura-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you… Would you… Um…" Naruto paused, scratching the back of his head nervously. "Are you hungry?" he asked finally. Sakura raised her eyebrows at him.

"We're eating chocolate…"

"Yeah I know, but… You know…" He blushed, now rubbing the back of his neck. "Would you like to get something to eat? Like something _real_," he clarified, glancing at her sideways.

Sakura was about to say 'no,' but hesitated in what had become her automatic response to the boy. She nibbled on another chocolate and gazed up at the clouds to give her time to think. _"What the hell?"_ she thought. He _had_ cheered her up, however inadvertently it may have been. Besides, no one should be alone on Valentine's Day…

"Yeah, okay," she agreed, offering a small smile. "But just as friends, okay? _And_ _no Ichiraku_!" she added vehemently.

"Aw, but Sakura-_chan_!" Naruto pouted as he stood.

"_No_!"

"Okay, okay…"

He helped the girl to her feet before leaning over to pick up the small bag that had been bulging with chocolates not too long ago. He grinned and pocketed it before falling into step with the girl. They argued good naturedly about where to eat, but Naruto didn't _really_ care; he was just happy that Sakura had finally said _yes_. He tossed his hands behind his head as they walked, smiling like the idiot everyone told him he was, but he didn't really care about that either. Words couldn't begin to describe the pure joy he felt.

"Naruto?"

"Hm?"

"Happy Valentine's Day," Sakura said shyly, her hands clasped behind her back, eyes forward. Naruto was pleased to see she was smiling.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Sakura-chan," he returned, smiling happily.

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**The End**

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Author's Note: I'm not entirely sure if I got Naruto and Sakura's characterizations right, but given the circumstances they seem okay. As you may have guessed, this takes place during the early days of Team 7, thus it is not entirely NaruSaku goodness. I apologize for that, but the Valentine's Day one-shot I originally had planned refused to be finished. It wasn't really a Valentine-centered fic anyway, so it won't matter when I post it (and it _will_ get posted, don't worry). Also, this complied with theme 23 (Candy) for **30Kisses** on LJ, so I killed two birds with one stone XD.

Anyway, comments on the characterization would be lovely and dually noted for future fics (though I must admit these two are a lot easier for me to write when they're in they're upper teens… Don't know why). Any grammar mistakes can be blamed on writing this all in one-sitting between 2-4 am, but I _did_ look it over a couple times earlier today so there really shouldn't be anything glaring.

If NaruSaku tickles your fancy, I have a WIP drabble-fic called In So Many Words. At the moment their relationship is a lot like this, but it will eventually evolve into NaruSaku :).

Thanks for reading!

Eraya :)


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